My first fan fiction. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Code Geass, nor could I ever even dream to do so.

Lelouch weakly opened his eyes. They moved slowly, like great stone slabs which had not been so much as shifted for centuries. However, when the sheer reality of that fact hit him, he was anything but weak. If he had opened his eyes, that meant he was alive. If he was alive, then the master plan – the Zero Requiem – which he had devoted almost two years of his life to had failed. Though he had experienced failure many times before in his life, and sometimes on a quite colossal scale, this trumped everything. The Zero Requiem was the one plan that could absolutely not fail, and as Lelouch pondered the consequences of his current existence, he was filled with horror.

In a fit of worry, he struggled to rise from the bed he was on; he had no idea where he was, complicating things further. However, an indescribably sharp pain radiated throughout his entire midsection, though he could feel no wound when he mustered the strength to lift an arm and check himself. He was stuck where he was for the moment. Seeing this, he decided to try to make sense of the situation by using the only weapon he had at hand – his brain. In his mind, he ran through every single possibility to account for why he was alive and how he got to this strange place.

He began by going over his master plan a few more times, an exercise he had performed countless times before his death was supposed to occur. Was there something he had overlooked? Some task he had forgotten to complete? No, the plan was solid, much to his credit. Suzaku had definitely stabbed him on that fateful day, the piercing pain in his torso was evidence enough of that. Yet why was there no trace of the massive wound he had been dealt? Had his body been stolen, treated, and resuscitated? As of yet, that was the only explanation that even began to make sense to Lelouch. And yet, even that theory had some major holes in it. He took a moment to survey his surroundings.

He was in some sort of shack, entirely made of wood. Other than the simple bed he was lying on, there were no furnishings, save for a few windows. Beyond the tiny room he was in, he could see a doorway, presumably leading outside, and a small kitchen beyond that. It reminded him of the abandoned storeroom near the Kururugi shrine that he and Nunnally had once lived in, only much smaller. So, he obviously was not in a hospital. The powerful, unobstructed light that bled through the spaces between the curtains and the windows suggested that he wasn't in a major city, further discounting the hospital theory. Lelouch closed his eyes. This brainstorming session was getting him nowhere, and was raising more questions rather than producing the answers he sought. Frustrated, he continued searching the abode for something, anything that would allow him to escape. He had to find some way to undo this massive failure, he had to –

"So, you're awake then."

Lelouch froze, his eyes widened. He knew that voice anywhere. It belonged to the woman that had driven the events of his life for the past two years. She was his accomplice, his guardian, his witch. He turned toward the source of the noise, and sure enough, there she was, sitting on a simple wooden chair, her long green hair flowing down the back. She had been sitting so still, he hadn't even noticed her. C.C. She was different somehow, and not because she wasn't wearing her traditional white jumpsuit. Instead, she wore a long red skirt, a white blouse and a black vest. But no, that wasn't it. Something about her made her seem far more human than he remembered, though he couldn't quite place his finger on it. However, he ignored these thoughts for the time being; there were questions to be answered.

"Where am I and why the HELL am I still alive?!" he demanded.

She found his demands charming. Same old Lelouch. Always wanting to be the one giving out orders, always wanting to be in control of the situation. She got up, knelt beside him and held his hand.

"Calm down. We're in the most secluded area of Japan. There's absolutely no chance of anyone finding us here."

Lelouch propped himself up slightly and lifted the shades on the closest window. As he had thought, they were indeed nowhere near any sort of metropolis. Outside was a hundred meter radius worth of circular landscape, then a solid wall of trees; the thickest forest he had ever seen. He saw no other houses, people, or even animals nearby. So, her story seemed to check out. He calmed down slightly. There was still a chance no one other than C.C. knew he was alive. But again…how?

"As for your other question…well, the answer lies within your grasp. Literally," she said, nodding towards his hand.

He pried it free of her clutches and examined his right palm. There, etched into his skin as if he were a mere dairy cow, was the unmistakable symbol of geass. It was a code. His father's code to be precise. In his mind, Lelouch flashed back to a day several months earlier. He, his mother and father, Suzaku, and C.C. were all in C's world. He had just ensured that the flow of time would keep moving forward, foiling his father's plan and causing his slow disintegration in the process. In a final, desperate act of defiance, his father had attempted to choke him, though he failed outright. However, in the worst kind of irony, that final desperate act had now come back to foil Lelouch's plans in return. His father had unknowingly and unwillingly transmitted his code to Lelouch with his final act, granting his son immortality in the process and ultimately poking a major hole in the Zero Requiem, which required his death.

Lelouch was suddenly filled with worry once more.

"How can you be so calm about this? Don't you have any idea of the consequences if anyone discovers that I'm still alive? If the world finds out that their peace is a sham, it'll be an irrevocable leap into the past – no different than if Charles had prevailed with his plan! It will be an even worse world than the one Schneizel sought to create! War and poverty will run even more rampant than before and – "

At that moment, she seized and kissed him. Lelouch was so surprised he almost didn't stop ranting. And it was more passionate than any kiss he had shared with Kallen, or even Shirley. After what seemed like an eternity, she pulled away.

"You silly boy," she said, "did you really expect that I would just let you be discovered? After all, you still have yet to fulfill your contract with me."

"What are you talking about...you no longer have your code. You can die, just like you always wanted," he said.

She laughed. Lelouch was enchanted by it. He had never heard her laugh before, yet here she was, clearly amused. And it was the most beautiful laugh he had ever heard. Had the loss of her code really made her this much more human? Lelouch had thought such a dramatic change in her impossible.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. You were the one who begged me to continue living and told me 'I know what you really want!' back in C's world, remember? Although, I'll admit that even I wasn't entirely sure what it was at the time."

Lelouch thought for a minute. He had buried that event deep in the back of his mind. Vaguely, he remembered how C.C. had placed him in her memories so as not to interfere with her death. He recalled how she had been given a geass power as well – the ability to make anyone instantly fall in love with her. That was it. She had grown bored with all the false gifts and proposals. She wanted something more.

She kissed him again.

"True love" they both said.

She stood and walked towards the kitchen, calling "I'm not letting you leave until you fulfill your end of the deal," as she left.

Lelouch leaned back, smiled, and closed his eyes again. Alright then. C.C. had been his guardian and his accomplice for so long; he knew he could trust her. And he was surprised to find himself quite aroused by her new, much more human persona. So, he would stay here. For all eternity, even after she inevitably died while he continued to live on.

After all, she was his witch. He was her warlock.

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed it. Comments are very welcome. Thanks for reading.

Also, if there's a place on this site where X-rated material is allowed, kindly direct me to it, as I have some excellent ideas for a very steamy sequel ;].